Tyre News

Continental WinterContact TS 870’s strength in wet and dry conditions was enough to win its second Auto Express Winter Tyre Test in a row. Competing against six other global manufacturers’ products, the Conti tyre narrowly finished ahead of the Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005 – WhatTyre’s Winter Tyre of the Year – by only 0.3 points overall. All seven tyres tested showed a good level of winter performance, with the last-placed Vredestein Wintrac Pro only 3.2 points out of 100 behind the Conti tyre. The performance differences between the top four winter tyres in the test especially were minimal, and the winner was selected as a particularly good tyre for UK winter driving conditions. The tyres were tested in size 225/45R17 in northern Sweden and in Germany.

Season-specific winter tyres may be niche products in the UK but make a lot of sense in certain situations. For example, high-powered performance cars may benefit from the added grip they offer when temperatures drop. Auto Bild Sportscars has evaluated 11 brands of tyre in size 225/40 R18 to gauge performance in snowy, wet and dry conditions. Four tyres gain the motoring publication’s highest recommendation, but Auto Bild Sportscars also warns that some winter products aren’t up to the job.

Hyundai has approved Hankook’s Ventus S1 evo 3 ev in size 225/55R18W as original fitment tyres for its Ioniq 6. The tyre is developed specifically for electric cars, featuring low rolling resistance, which helps to increase range on a full charge, and a lightweight, robust construction to meet the specific requirements of all-electric vehicles, such as the Ioniq 6.

Auto Bild has shared the results achieved by the 20 finalists in its 2023 winter tyre test. While the motoring publication’s test team found that most of these size 225/45 R18 tyres offered “really good performance” when snow and ice were present, the situation changed somewhat in conditions that motorists more typically encounter. After experiencing “surprisingly large differences in performance potential” on wet and dry roads they awarded only three tyres their top ‘exemplary’ rating. One of the 20 receives a non-recommendation.

The Auto Bild tyre test team has been busy, and in addition to evaluating 35 all-season tyres they’ve put 54 winter tyres through their paces. After a preliminary round of testing – braking from 80km/h in the wet and from 50km/h on snow – 20 tyres continue on as finalists.

As promised, Auto Bild has subjected the 16 remaining tyres in its 2023 all-season test to further and more intensive scrutiny after booting out 19 products that didn’t make the grade in a preliminary round of wet and dry braking tests. The motoring publication’s expert testers gave five of these size 225/45 R17 tyres their highest recommendation – an ‘exemplary’ rating – and declared a further three ‘good’ tyres. The remaining eight finished testing with ‘satisfactory’ or ‘conditionally recommended’ ratings.